The Jazz Scene: Miles Davis and Heroes of the Horn

By

Will Friedwald

Updated May 23, 2013 10:34 p.m. ET

Dreaming in Blue: Miles Davis Festival

Smoke 2751 Broadway, (212) 864-6662 Through June 30

Louis Armstrong told the world that he was born on the Fourth of July, and nobody minded when it turned out not to be the case. One almost gets the impression that Miles Davis somehow deliberately contrived to be born on Memorial Day—May 26, 1926—just so the whole world could never forget his birthday. As usual, more than one venue is celebrating the birth anniversary: On Friday and Saturday, the Iridium presents two outstanding...